A Symbol of Hope
by Tiryn
Summary: You lose a lot of things in life; friends, family, things, hope. It's a normal thing, really, but what is one to do when all of that is restored, when they are given another chance to make right what was made wrong? Anastasia made her choice, and now everyone must see it to the end. MOSTLY MALEC SHIPPING!
1. Prologue

_**Hey guys! I'm so sorry, but I have another story TT^TT Now, this has been in my head for a while (I already have about seven chapters written) and some of my friends really, REALLY enjoyed this :3**_

_**I do not own Mortal Instruments and do hope you enjoy this :)**_

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

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_-**P**_**_rologue-_**

To tell the truth, I'm a little absentminded at times; I would set something down somewhere, forget it five minutes later, and then think I lost it. Trust me, I would lose my own pants if I wasn't wearing them.

The only item that this does not apply to is my phone. Even if I don't have it for more than an hour or so, it would still be in the same place that I left it.

Why am I telling you this?

It is because my phone is a very, very important part of the story that I'm about to tell you. I'm not so sure of most of what happened myself, but hopefully my friends can fill in the blanks for me.

Now then, should I start with how I died or the first text message that Magnus Bane sent me? I think I'll start with the latter since I just gave you a spoiler. Actually, make that two spoilers.

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**_This is probably the shortest chapter that I have ever written! Hope you guys like it :) I'm going to post chapter one tomorrow after a couple of other stories are updated, so hope you all enjoy!_**


	2. Chapter 1

So, as I have said, here is the first chapter :)

FOR ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE UK/LONDON: I DO NOT MEAN DISRESPECT AND WOULD REALLY LOVE HELP CORRECTING ANY MISTAKES I HAVE MADE IN CREATING MY CHARACTER! THANK YOU!

Well, I do hope you guys enjoy this first chapter :)

Do not own, do not pass go, do not collect 200, blah, blah, blah!

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_-Chapter 1-_**

Believe me when I say that I really do not have a lot of friends. I mean, I know a lot of people (and I do mean a _lot_), but I don't have many _friend _friends. The people I used to call friends... Well, we kind of drifted apart some time before I left for college.

Yeah, I cried, but I knew it was going to happen eventually. One of my grandfathers once told me that an average friendship lasted about seven years. For people that met during middle school, we lasted longer than I thought we would, despite all the fights and arguments that we got into.

But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. I said that I had a story to tell and that's why you're here, right? I'm pretty sure that my life is not that particular story.

Now then, the first day I got that text message was a rather dreary one...

Rain. Lots of it. I rather liked rain, but this pouring of buckets was a bit much. Not to mention it was cold.

"Bloody winter." If I was back home in London, I would say that it was a rather normal day. But I moved to one of the warmer parts of America and had gotten used to the constant warmth of the sun.

Sighing, I decided that I had too little time to ponder over the cold and tried rushing to my next class, the dreaded thing known as Calculus. I almost was late; Professor almost closed the door on my bag.

Personally, the math itself is easy; it's the droning voice of the Professor that kept making me want to go to sleep. And for an old man, he could sure write quickly. The note-taking is probably what saved my life several times from getting sent to the headmistress of the school.

Let me just tell you that college is just like high school; only with older, slightly more mature people. Throw in fraternities, sprinkle in some beer, and add a dash of constant sex, then you would get your typical college week. Bone appetite, I guess, if you like that kind of stuff. The parties are fun, though, if you play your cards right.

Glancing around, I could see the squares of light underneath desks and in laps, hiding from the eyes of the old professor. Like I said before, for an old man, he's pretty sharp and quick.

"Don't forget your assignment of a five-page essay over the chapter this weekend. Dismissed." Scrapings of chairs and rustling quickly turned into silence once the students heard the glorious 'd' word. I am no exception; I mean, the teacher was creepy enough when there was a class of students. I would hate to meet him alone.

As was my habit now-a-days, I checked my phone as soon as I was out of class. Imagine my surprise to see a text from an unknown number.

From: Unknown

_Hello~ I'm Magnus and  
would like to be your  
friend ;}_

To: Anastasia

Magnus? Sounds like a cool name, probably a male, but who in the hell around here is named Magnus? Shrugging, I decided that the polite thing to do would be to answer him.

From: Anastasia

_Um, I'm sorry, but I  
don't know you. How  
did you get this  
number?_

To: Unknown

SEND

Looking up at the sound of the rain, I scowled at the offending water. "Bloody water and bloody rain and bloody..." and so continued my oh-so=creative curses (sarcasm, darlings) as I and other people ran through the drenching. Of course, me being me, I forgot my umbrella at my dorm room.

My phone buzzed again in my pocket. '_He answered?' _Well, I expected to never get a reply, really, but hey, whatever you know. I couldn't answer it right away and so decided to run even quicker so I could enjoy pizza delivery and some sleep. Screw the homework, I was catching up on some sleep!

Though the buzzing reminder of my phone reminded me that I was trying to talk to a stranger named Magnus.

Personally, I was glad that I had my own dorm room. It made things a lot easier in the terms of privacy. The dorm room looked half-empty, though, so there's the down-side to that one.

I promptly dropped my jacket and looked a the new message. You know, now that I look back on this, I was really excited to talk to this new person.

From: Unknown

_I randomly started  
texting random  
numbers. You're  
the first person to  
answer me. And I  
already told you my  
name. What's yours?_

To: Anastasia

RESPOND?

I swear that I was smirking right then and there. From the two texts that he sent me, I could tell that he would be an interesting person to talk to. Would it be so bad to give him my name? First, I needed to save his number and name so that I can actually talk to him without calling him by a name that is not his own.

From: Anastasia

_Well, you strike me  
as a very interesting  
person, so I'll be your  
new friend. The name's  
Anastasia, pleasure to  
meet you._

To: Magnus

This is actually more than I could have hoped fro in a dismal day like this. I got a new friend and it was the weekend! Though the rain kind of almost ruined the good mood that I was set in.

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_**Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter :)**_

_**Holy shit 0.o Okay, went to look at the stats for this story and... REALLY?! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE XD Thank you for looking at my story and special recognition to ponie . price (sorry about the spaces) for following and favoriting :) I will have the next chapter up tomorrow xD Or later today...**_

_**Please tell me what you think~**_


	3. Chapter 2

Again, here's the next chapter the next day :3 I literally have nothing else to do xD Since it's Spring Break for me and all XD Thank you for looking at the story... again xP I'm sorry that there isn't any Malec yet, but I'll get there soon :) Maybe xD

DO NOT OWN! Except for the plot... and OCs :3 I also do not own Lucky Charms... Except for the box I bought at the store being demolished right now XD

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_-Chapter 2-_**

Magnus and I talked for hours on end some times. There were a couple of times where we would call each other to simply talk things out. may I just say that he has a damn sexy voice? Nearly melted me into a puddle.

One of the more interesting conversations that we had was when he told me that he was bisexual. To this very day, I still believe that he is gay as the sunshine is bright.

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"Ana, I need to tell you something." I turned and looked at my phone and glared.

"If you tell me that you're a woman, I swear, on the seven rings of hell, that I will reach through my phone and bloody well strangle you." He laughed at me! That boy had the nerve to laugh at my (what I thought it was anyways) very creative threat. It at least released the tension that he was building. Growling, I turned back to my fridge and continued looking for eggs so I could finally have some breakfast. Or lunch, it seemed late enough.

"No, no, darling, nothing that dramatic, I assure you." Magnus seemed to purr through the damn phone. His tone then turned more serious. "Anastasia, this is important." My phone acted so innocent when I looked at it.

I opted for Lucky Charms instead of eggs and settled into my chair to listen. "Alright then, what's up?" Silence. Was it really that bad? Setting aside my food, I leaned forward and smiled at Magnus, even though he couldn't see it. "Hey, whatever it is, you can tell me."

A soft sigh before, "I'm bisexual."

Really? That's the big news?! I was pissed. "Magnus Bane!" The phone jumped up as I slammed my hands down on the table. "Don't you ever dare scare me like that! I thought you were going to tell me you had a tumor! Bloody hell..." Well, he bloody had me scared!

For the first time since Magnus had texted me three years ago, he was silent. Possibly shocked. "Well, males or females?" I asked.

The answer was almost instantaneous. And then I cursed. Of course he was gay, why didn't I see it before!? At least I knew that he was still there. "So you don't care?"

"Should I?"

I thought I head a clap and a squeal of delight on the other end. "This is perfect! Now we can talk about a lot more things now, like boys and clothing and GLITTER!"

I laughed. No matter what, he could always make me laugh. "As long as you don't swath me in glitter, we're good." I joked. "Hey, I got to go, I need to get dressed for work. Text you later?"

He was the one to laugh this time. "Of course sweetie! Text you later!" The dial tone rang throughout the quiet household, causing my new Egyptian Mau to glare at it.

"It's alright, Ankh, it won't harm you." I told him, softly petting his head. He ran off somewhere, probably for a new napping place or something.

My work was boring, really, but being a bartender at a night club has its perks, such as the patrons and the never ending music. That was probably my favorite part; there never really is silence. That's one of the things that I hate about life; the silence.

It really ticks me off.

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**_And that's the end of that one :D Hope you people enjoyed this chapter ^^_**

**_Please tell me what you think :) There's going to be another MI character coming up next chapter :D_**

**_The next one will be, once again, up tomorrow :3_**


	4. Chapter 3

I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE CHAPTER BEING A DAY LATE Okay, so I'm kind of grounded at the moment, so I'm hoping it won't last, and I'm taking the moment of doing homework on the computer to update this for you guys...

Hope you enjoy :/

DO NOT OWN!

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_-Chapter 3-_**

The bar is another really important thing in this story. Personally, the bar, called Night's Wing, is the place where everything that is pivotal happened.

Such as meeting the man that killed me, but the actual 'killing' comes up a little bit later. Like after a couple of weeks of meeting the guy and then being chased by weird... _things._

But the actual meeting is more important...

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Friday nights were always busy Though bartending itself was a rather boring job, it was the one night where I could show off all of my tricks.

It's the most money we make in a consecutive week and the most tips that I receive in that same week. The setting of fire is probably my favorite trick out of them all.

During my flipping of bottles and amazing everyone that was watching, this guy caught my eye. He was a golden tan with what looked like black dreadlocks pulled back. he seemed to be staring straight at me, in which I responded with adding more flair to what I was currently doing.

Flip, catch, spin, repeat, pour and set fire. It had a certain rhythm to it and made me more relaxed than other times, other than when I was speaking to Magnus. Yet, his eyes stayed glued to me. It was severely creepy.

He finally approached me when I was collecting the tips. His eyes shined a light green in what seemed to be amusement. Putting on my signature greet-the-customer smile, I asked him if he was like anything. For a moment there, he looked confused, as if he couldn't believe that I was actually talking to him. Then he responded with a request for a Bloody Mary.

Whoever he was, he watched me very carefully as I mixed the some-what spicy drink. I still wonder as to why they call the Bloody Mary a Bloody Mary. I collected my money and thanked him for ordering something while he was here.

"What are you?" His voice was nice; it held only curiosity, but I thought that there was something that swam under the curiosity.

"Um, sir? I'm not sure what you mean..."

"You're not a demon, and you're not a Shadowhunter, so what are you?" I decided then that he was probably drunk (though I haven't served him any alcohol before the Bloody Mary... which was already drained) and answered instead with, "sir, I'm human and you're drunk. Please call a cab and go home."

Those eyes stared through me before he nodded, thanked me, and simply left. '_Strange man...' _I thought, going back to entertaining and pouring drinks for all of these people.

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That was the first time I met Valentine. He came four times after that; each time on a Friday. He would stand in the back, watching me 'perform' and then ask for a Bloody Mary. He introduced himself to me on our third meeting. He would ask me whether I was a demon (as if) or a Shadowhunter, which I still do not know what the hell that is.

The sixth meeting is when everything went down the drain.

Bloody bigot.

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**_Like I said, sorry for the late update! I'll try to update as soon as possible, which is a foggy moment since I'm grounded :/ Hoped you all enjoyed!_**

**_RonaldGarcia91 Thank you! And yes xD I had to give a reason as to why they met each other, so *shrugs* Glad you enjoyed it :3_**

**_Please tell me what you think~!_**


	5. Chapter 4

**_Yay, another chapter :D I'm ungrounded, so now I can update at a (maybe...) somewhat reasonable time :3 Hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter~_**

**_PS: Do not own, do not make money, do no pass Go..._**

**_Italics: Anastasia_**

**_Bold: Magnus_**

**_That's for the little text conversation they have here..._**

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_Chapter Four_**

If I knew what Valentine meant when he said 'demon' or 'Shadowhunter,' Things would have been a hell of a lot simpler for me. Like how I found out about the whole other world that was living beside me. That's after I die, of course.

So, chase or calling Magnus? Hm, decisions, decisions...

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We were closing up on Friday night. I tried going home early sometimes since I really do not like New York at night (how there are empty alleyways and streets in the 'city that never sleeps' I shall never know), but of course it never works.

I waved to my manager, finally able to walk home once the place was properly cleaned and locked up. During this walk, I was texting Magnus, who was having a hell of a time at a party.

'_So, who is he?_'  
**'He is a blue-eyed beauty~**'  
_'Do you even know his name?_'  
**'Not yet, but I will~'  
** _''Flirt. Shameless flirt._'  
**'You still love me~**'  
_'Sadly, yes._'

This was the normal banter between the two of us, but he had taken a recent shine to this blue-eyed black-haired beau of a man. it was so a crush and he has yet to get a damn name out of the guy. I told him that I better be the maid of honor when they get married, which I got a major freaking squeal (is that what the Americans called it?) out of him. Magnus is such an amusing man sometimes.

"Why are you alone out here?" I turned and saw Valentine leaning against the lamp post that I had just passed by. I shrugged it off as being too busy texting Magnus to notice him.

I frowned, noting that this was the first time that I had ever encountered him outside of the club.

His eyes narrowed a bit and he asked again, except with a little more malice. I shrugged in response. Valentine did not need to know that I was heading home. He then sighed and stood like a soldier, his hands folded behind his back with a military stance. "Well, let's hope you don't have anywhere important to go tonight." Now my eyes narrowed, sensing that I should run like the Queen's army was after me.

It was stupid of me to stay there, but I digress. "Why, Valentine?" Then there were these freaky shadow things that came out of nowhere, hurdling around the light that Valentine was in. He seemed to smile politely and gave me a single warning: run.

Bloody hell, I never ran that fast in my life. Whatever those smoke things were scare the living hell out of me and I was pretty sure that those claws were not made for scratching backs! Howling and snarls soon followed after me.

'Why aren't there any bloody people?!' I thought, knowing that my chances of escape were slim enough without my attempt at speaking. Off course, the first that I thought of to actually help me was Magnus...

Who was at a party...

FUCK!

Screw it, I'm calling him anyways. Hopefully he'll know it's important. First, must find a place to call him for maybe a minute... The abandoned apartment building that I pass every day is a good place.

Finally a little bit of hope bloomed in my chest. 'Faster, faster!' Instead of doing what I wanted them to, my legs slowed down. Those snarls were incredibly closer than before. Skid around the corner and gain some time, I told myself, getting my fingers to keep a good grip on my phone. That skid only made a few of them get off course; I could hear them skid across the concrete of the STILL EMPTY streets!

Honestly, I don't know how I was able to block the door long enough to actually talk to Magnus as long as I did. Well, technically, I didn't talk to him; I left a voicemail.

The phone rang several times before Magnus' familiar voice greeted me. Another bang made me shriek in surprise ad fear. My voice shook and I tried really hard to steady it as I spoke to Magnus. I ended the call, crying my heart out and saying sorry.

The door busted open. I could almost imagine the delight and bloodlust in their shrieks.

For the first time since Mum left, I prayed.

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**_Yeah, this is kind of sad... Next chapter is a lot worst (I nearly got murdered by my friends for writing angst), so don't kill me yet :3_**

**_RonaldGarcia91 Well, for a short explanation, yes she does... and that will be explained in later chapters! Can't reveal everything, now can I? ;_**

**_Thank you for being the only reviewer... again :3 But it's probably because of how incredibly short these are (really, it's amazing how short and amazing these are 0.o), so meh... But people still read it :3_**

**_Tell me what you think in a review~_**


	6. Chapter 5

**_Do not own!_**

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_Chapter Five_**

It was late. it was insanely late, like two am late. Magnus sighed and relaxed into his chair, snapping his fingers so he wouldn't have to physically clean up the mess.

Chairman Meow glared at him from the table, his fluffy-blue tail swaying to and fro. He pushed Magnus' buzzing phone towards him, still glaring at the warlock.

"That better not be a customer..." Magnus grumbled, picking up the phone and flipping it open. Magnus was surprised; not only did Anastasia call him (she never really did), but she called him this late and left a voicemail. "What in the world?" He quickly typed in his code, set it to speakerphone, and waited.

Heavy breathing greeted him. Confusion bit at Magnus, but that was before he could make out several bangs and creaks in the background. The warlock stood, not really liking where this was going.

_"Magnus? It's Anastasia.  
I-I know that it's late,  
but this is important."_

I particularly loud bang interrupted her. Anastasia's shriek was loud. it caused her to go into hysterics. Magnus sat on the edge of his seat, eyes glued to the phone that (unknowingly) contained the last remnant of his best friend.

"_There's this guy that  
has been going to the  
club for the past five  
or so Fridays. I only  
know his name, but  
he wants me dead_."

Another sob, this one a little more hysterical. Magnus did not even notice how white his knuckles had become. He could almost guess about what's happening.

"_H-his name is Valentine."_

Magnus didn't bother to stay to hear the rest of the message. He was out of the door, seemingly flying across the ground to get to the Institute.

"_The-there are these...  
things that he sent after  
me. I... think they are  
demons. Magnus I don't  
think that I will survive tonight_."

Desperate, Magnus pounded on the door of the Institute, crying out Alec's full name. It was opened almost immediately by Alec. He was tired and really wanted to snap at whoever the hell woke him up, but snapped to attention.

Magnus was crying.

He never cried.

"Please," he pleaded, falling to his knees, a terrified expression on his face. The others arrived as Magnus spoke. "I need your help."

"_I-I'm in this abandoned  
apartment building down  
a ways from the Night's  
Wing bar, the-the third floor,  
thirteenth door. I-I don't  
know how long the  
barrier will hold up, s-so..."_

Clary, the ever-loving saint that she was, knelt next to him and asked him what was wrong. Magnus grabbed her hands in an iron grip, pleading with her to save his best friend. "Where is she?" Jace asked, stepping forward. even the blonde could not resist to help the warlock. Besides, he still had to repay Magnus for helping both Clary and Alec.

Magnus paused, think, then shakily stood up and gestured for everyone to follow. by this time, everyone was awake and on full alert.

"_I am so sorry,  
s-sorry that I broke  
my promise, sorry that  
I had to die..."_

Footsteps echoed along the walls as the group ran. Magnus did everything he could to remember the name of the bar-club-thing that Anastasia worked at. Oh, how he wished that he did stay to find out what happened. Then again, he probably wouldn't have the strength to do what he needed to do.

"_Find my mum  
and tell her  
that I said  
I-I'm sorry..."_

They passed by her apartment, past the building that Anastasia was in, and finally stopped at the lamp where Valentine appeared to Anastasia several hours earlier.

Magnus stopped, frustrated that he couldn't think of anywhere to go. He kicked the lamp in frustration and turned, ready to go to her apartment next. He froze. Was that Anastasia?

"_I'm sorry.  
I-I am s-  
so s-sorry..."_

The apparition turned and ran. Naturally, Magnus followed. The white apparition flickered back and forth, but the group was relentless in following Magnus, whom seemed like to be the only one to see the ghost of Anastasia.

"_I'm s-sorry...  
I-I'm sorry..."_

She led the way up to what seemed to be an apartment building. They followed her up to the third floor and down to the left. By then, they didn't need her as a guide. They could see the splintered remains of a door and blood. The blood was everywhere.

Magnus nearly puked from the smell, but pushed on to face what he knew was in that room.

_"Goodbye, Magnus..."_

The warlock cradled the girl's head, his tears returning in full force. He whispered her name and apologies over and over, wishing he was there, wishing he could just save her so they could laugh together one more time.

"I prayed you know." All heads turned towards the frail voice that belonged to Anastasia. "I-I think that is the only reason that I am a-alive." She didn't move, probably couldn't anyways. She used her last breath in that silence to say thank you.

_"I'm sorry..."_

_"END OF MESSAGE  
WOULD YOU LIKE TO  
__DELETE MESSAGE?"_

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_**Okay, so that was a lot harder to write than I thought... I mean, I already wrote it, but the feels... they kind of hurt :/**_

_**Well, anyways, to my lovely reviewers~**_

_**RedCoral: Trust me, you'll find out :3 thank you so much and I do hope you come back and review again :3**_

_**RonaldGarcia91: Ello again~! Meh, don't worry about. If they wish to read and not review, they may do so, even if I think it's stupid (then again, I do the same thing, so I can't say much about it...) Yeah, she tried running faster xD well, sometimes it is hard work, since some people don't want to hurt the feelings of the author or just simply can not take the time to do so... Pathetic excuses, yes, but *shrugs* What can one do? I can't be like Loki and make them kneel before me (as awesome as that would be)... Thanks for your input :3**_

_**Yes, you all have the right to bitch about how it's unfair that the main character dies in this chapter :3**_

_**Please review!**_


	7. Chapter 6

**_Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but I was busy sewing my prom dress (WHICH IS THIS WEEKEND!), so I took a break to put this down for all of you :3_**

**_Do not own~_**

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_Chapter 6_**

My mum came to visit me once. By then, I was finally done with college and applying for a full-time job at Night's Wing, and it was also about six or seven months since Magnus first texted me.

I like my mum. She's a kind woman with a bit of that iron maiden in her. Victoria was my hero when I was younger and then she was my best friend as I grew up.

It kind of reminds me that I really did hurt her when I left for America. However, she forgave me, and I still hurt her. When I act like the dad I've never met, it reminds me how awful I would've actually turned out if it wasn't for my mum.

* * *

I was excited. Mum was coming for a weekend visit! You could probably understand why I was excited; I haven't seen her in about eight years.

Ankh stared at me from his perch on top of the refrigerator, probably wondering why the hell I was rushing around like a mad woman, stuffing things where they should be and cleaning everything in an OCD fashion. Normally, he would be in my way, begging for something or other since I tend to forget anything and everything, but he's a smart Egyptian Mau and I think that he knew that this was important to me.

A couple of hours later, the doorbell rang. mum came through without knocking and said, "sweety, are you here?"

"Mum!" She was still taller than me by a couple of inches, but I was slowly catching up to her. "How have you been? Would you like some tea?" I sat her down at the table, listening to her babble on about London, the weather, her trip over here, and how lonely she has been since I've been gone.

Thinking back on that, it still hurt even after eight years. After Dad left Mum when she was still pregnant with me, she hated being alone. Mum surrounded herself with people and animals so she could forget how much it hurt that people would leave her. Mum one told me that she developed it when she was younger, but she never told me the exact age.

There were a lot of mysteries surrounding Mum, but I loved her none-the-less.

"Sorry, mum," I told her, setting some sweet chamomile tea in front of her. "I wanted a better education." I wanted to get away from the memory of my father is what I wanted to say. "I'm sorry if you were alone, Mum." She smiled and waved it off.

"I had the animals and my job to keep myself surrounded." Mum sighed at the warmth of the tea. "Though Elizabeth does not make tea the same way that you do."

"That's because I make the best tea and crumpets mum." We had a good laugh about that; we both knew that the butlers of the queen probably made better tea than I ever would.

Laughter tapered off into warm silence. For some reason, it was never awkward around mum; she seemed to always have this calm aura that seeped into the environment around her. It was just another mystery that made Mum... mum.

"So what have you been up to, my little fairy?" I smiled at the nickname that my mum gave me. When I was younger, I wanted to be a beautiful fairy when I grew up. Victoria always indulged me, and so had always called me her little fairy.

"I applied for that job a while back and got it. Also, remember Magnus?"

"That man that you always talked about? Yes."

"Apparently he's bi, but I swear if he was any gayer he would outshine the sun!" Then I shrugged. "Sadly for me but great for him, he's enamored with this guy and only sees me as his best friend." Mum's smile grew sad and she apologized, but I said, "I'm over it, so it's just me and Ankh now."

Said Egyptian Mau jumped onto the table and immediately demanded attention from the both of us. I rolled my eyes but did as the little spoiled cat demanded. "He's lovely, Anastasia." I nodded in response. Ankh then curled up into a ball and proceeded to purr happily right there on the table.

"Honey, there's a reason why I came." I looked up to my mum and was startled. Victoria suddenly seemed much older, more weary and weather-beaten than she had ever been. she reached across the table and held my hands in her own. Her smile was small and shined with the sadness that now radiated from her. "In about a month, I'll be having a surgery. It's to attempt to remove the cists and tumors that I have obtained."

Her hands, thankfully, anchored me to the earth. Mum, dying? And a surgery... "Why haven't you told me before?"

"I wanted you to be happy for a bit longer. Don't worry," she patted my hands. "I'll be fine." Victoria stood up and laid a kiss on my head. The area tingled from that little kiss.

I couldn't ask her to promise me that she would be okay, that she would survive. Fate was a funny thing and didn't always turn out the way that I wanted them to.

"Sweety, I have to catch my flight." I looked up in shock. She was leaving already?! She just got here. "Now stay safe, okay? Remember that little prayer?"

I started to recite the thing from memory:

_"In the first darkness,  
protect us with the  
white of life._

_In the second darkness,  
protect us with the  
grey of reality._

_In the third darkness,  
protect us with the  
black of dreams._

_Let all our prayers  
protect us with our  
love and faith in You._

_Amen"_

Mum smiled, a proud twinkle in her eye. "Good girl." We then exchanged our goodbyes before she left in the taxi cab that brought her here. "Good luck, Mum." I said, watching the car leave until it was long out of my sight. "May your faith and love in Her bring you through this surgery."

Sighing, I turned to walk back into the warmth of my apartment.

"Amen."

* * *

Mum's a really strange person. She gave that poem to me when I was younger and always said that it would help me one day when my time came.

Honestly, before my death, I never really understood the poem.

However, considering where I'm at the moment, it would probably explain a log the of things that I couldn't previously explain about Mum.

Out of all the things that have happened to me in the past few days, getting a white cup shoved in my face by a dead woman seemed to be a very small thing.

I sighed and drank the mystery contents, reciting the poem in my head. mum has some explaining to do when I woke back up.

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_**Hello~ Hope you all enjoyed Victoria, Anastasia's mother :D Had to introduce her somehow, so going almost completely off track seemed to do the trick :3**_

_**To my reviewers:**_

_**RonaldGarcia91: Yeah, you'll find that out in... several, SEVERAL chapters later xD Glad you liked the suspense :3 It was my first time toying with that kind of style, so I'm glad that you appreciated it :3 Thanks for the review!**_

_**RedCoral: Thank you~ Yeah, nearly got killed after my friends read it ;3 Thanks for the review!**_

_**Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter~**_


	8. Chapter 7

HELLO EVERYONE! I'm actually disappointed to see that there were no reviews to the last chapter :( It was actually semi-important!

Oh well, can't please everyone :/

Onto the seventh chapter~

I do not own any of the MI characters :3

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_Chapter 7_**

Magnus had listened to the voicemail message five times already. he glanced over at Anastasia's dead body and tensed up in frustration. Five days... Five days and there was no sighn of her mother or father, and he severely doubted that Anastasia had any current siblings to speak of. As Magnus fiddled with the phone, little sparks of magic came off of him from sheer frustration and exhaustion.

"Calm down, Magnus." Alec laid a comforting hand on the warlock's shoulders. it calmed him down immediately. "I'm sure her parents will show up once they get the letter." They were all feeling the stress; usually, the young Shadowhunters were on top of demons and in top form, no sweat. However, the death of the mysterious girl with black hair and pale skin sent almost everyone on edge.

Especially since a cat with an ankh on it's collar strolled right on in, plopped down on Anastasia's body and attacked nearly anybody that came within distance of its claws.

Really, Jace thought he had seen stranger things happen in his lifetime. "If that cat does not leave soon, I'm going to strangle it." The cat hissed in response. Magnus only flicked his bright green and gold eyes to the conflict before giving a deep sigh. "I'll try to stay calm." Alec nodded then pulled up a chair beside him, watching the dead body be incredibly calm in a whirlwind of chaos.

"He's a really Egyptian Mau." Clary commented a little later, trying to break the newly acquired silence.

"How do you know it is a he?" Simon finally put his own two cents in. He was tossing a ball between his hands to give himself something to do.

"You already know how, Simon." Clary retorted, staring at the cat, who was watching the ball with intense interest. Simon shrugged and kept silent, not really knowing what to do in a situation like this.

Silence reigned the room once again. It was really hard to just sit there and do nothing but watch Anastasia as if she would miraculously breath again. Magnus sighed again and started flipping his phone open and close. The high warlock of Brooklyn knew he shouldn't care so much (humans died every day, why should he care?), but he had grown attached to this one.

She was... strange, but a good kind of strange. It was the one where Magnus thought he had found a kindred spirit within Anastasia. Now that wonderful spirit had flown into her own little version of Heaven. Magnus secretly hoped that the angels the Shadowhunters always prayed to would take special care of Anastasia.

The cat then stood and pawed at the air in the direction of the door. A knock resounded through the room, sending an unwanted chill up and down Magnus' back. The door opened immediately afterwards allowing in a woman that was tall and walking with a kind of grace that was almost foreign to Magnus. She had greying hair and blue eyes that were dull in color but calming in presence.

Jace reacted almost immediately. His sword at her throat stopped her from advancing any further into the room. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" He hissed out to the stranger, muscles taut and ready to pounce if she was deemed a threat to anybody in this room.

The stranger smiled, her eyes sparkling brightly "It's been a long time since there was a sword pointed at me." A chuckle. "Well, since you have entertained me so, I will answer your questions, but first..." She side-stepped Jace and went to Anastasia's side, giving the cat a treat as she stood on the opposite side of Magnus and Alec. "I would like to check on my daughter."

Clary nearly snapped. The woman grated her nerves with how calm she was about her own daughter's death. The red head held her anger down however, watching the mother of Anastasia caress Anastasia's face so gently, so lovingly. It almost hurt to watch because Clary could literally feel the love that the mother had for her dead child. It reminded her of her own feelings when her mother put herself into that damned coma.

"I'm sorry..." Magnus said, looking down at his phone. He cursed his own stupidity. "I could have saved her..." Tears gathered at the corner of the warlock's eyes, effectively blurring his vision a bit.

"Oh, pish posh!" All heads snapped back towards the mother, who was still staring at her daughter. "You did all you could..." Silence. Simon was slightly shocked. This as definitely one person whom he did not want to become acquainted with. "Now all we have to do is wait for Anastasia to wake back up It's been five days, correct? She should be waking up at any moment now.

Isabelle decided to speak up. "Excuse me, miss...?"

"Victoria, and drop the miss. It makes me feel older than I already am."

"Victoria, are you delusional, or possibly insane?"

"Izzy! Be polite!" Alec snapped at his younger sister.

"Possibly delusional, but insane? No, no, or else her Majesty, the Queen of England would not allow me to work for her!" Another chuckle. Jace wasn't sure what to think of this Victoria woman; she could be a damn good actress or truly delusional. "Now, off of Anastasia, Ankh, or else she won't be able to breathe." The cat, now labeled as Ankh, seemed to grumble a bit before stepping off of Anastasia's body gently and settling himself by his mistress' head.

_'Yeah, definitely delusional...' _Jace thought.

"Um, ma'am?" Victoria looked to Alec and smiled politely. "Where is Anastasia's father?"

"Gone. Probably living his life happily with another woman." Victoria shrugged. "He hasn't been here for her and he certainly will not start now." Throughout all of that little speech, Magnus could not find any bit of malice in Victoria's voice, just... acceptance.

He was about to ask one of his own questions when a white apparition caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look more clearly, only to see it fly across his vision. Magnus followed it to find it standing next to Victoria, who was looking at him with a critical eye.

"You can see her, I suppose?"

Magnus only nodded, not really getting what was going on, though he had a feeling that he should know.

"Well, that's good. That means Anastasia is here." Victoria smiled. The apparition slowly dissolved behind her, floating into Anastasia's body. Once the last of it touched her skin, Anastasia's eyes snapped open. She sat up and took deep, harsh breaths.

Victoria's smile widened. "Welcome back, my little fairy."

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**_Did you guys really think I would kill off the main character that quickly? Seriously, I need her to get Magnus and Alec together~_**

**_Sorry for the long wait, my beautiful peeps :3 Hope you all enjoyed and please, PLEASE give me some reviews~_**


	9. Chapter 8

Okay, I am saying this now; I laughed when I saw the reviews xD Thank you :3

Don't own MI characters~

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**_A Symbol of Hope_**

**_Chapter 8_**

Very little is explainable in this world, truly. It's something that I have learned, living with Mum and all of the other things that I have seen. Wings? Trick of the light. Fangs? Probably someone forgot that it wasn't Halloween. Flying? Yeah, haven't figured that one out yet.

So, dead lady is also unexplainable. Does that mean I'm seriously insane or is there something else that I've been missing? For instance; coming back to life is also not easily explainable, especially when you know you have died.

And mum, acting like it was completely normal? Yeah, definitely a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

I love breathing. I don't think I'll ever cherish something that mindless as I cherish breathing now.

Ankh seemed to be perfectly content sitting in my lap and purring. Because of my slightly blurred vision, I could only guess at what else was surrounding me.

Closing my eyes, I tried slowing down my breathing. If I didn't, I would probably choke on air and die again. Not something I would like to experience again.

"S-She's alive?!" I looked over to see two gorgeous men sitting at my bedside. one has pale skin with black hair and some of the bluest eyes that I had ever seen. At least my vision was clearing up. Next to him was an Asian looking man with hair that seemed to sparkle insanely. his eyes were strange; were those cat-slits? He was the most familiar of the two. I laid a hand over where my heart was and felt a gentle thud where it should be.

"As far as I know, yes." My throat was dry and made my voice sound extremely hoarse. I looked around and saw that there were at least four other people that I didn't recognize. two boys, two girls; one boy was handsome with slicked back blonde hair and nice blue eyes. he looked tall next to the red-headed girl with bright green eyes. Over a ways from them was a beautiful young woman with long black hair and blue eyes. She was probably a sibling to the black haired guy. Next to her stood another guy, though he stayed in the shadows. What I could make of him, though, was that he was extremely pale. Probably not healthy.

A teacup was then shoved into my face I followed the hand to see a familiar looking woman with greying hair and laughing blue eyes that were dull from age. "Drink this, my little fairy, and you'll feel better." I narrowed my eyes, trying to place why the two people were so familiar...

The woman paused and then continued to speak. "Well, forgot about the memory loss part." She smiled softly. "I'm your mother, Victoria, remember?" It took a minute, but I did remember her... and that bloody rhyme she had me memorize. "Do you know anybody in this room?"

"Magnus Bane." I answered, twisting back around to smile at the hot Asian man. It didn't get very far since I was then engulfed in a hug. Magnus was hugging me tightly, silently crying his eyes out. "Sorry for breaking my promise." I muttered, hugging him back. This was the only other time that we had met in person, so I really did owe him an apology that was a little less wimpy than 'I'm sorry that I broke my promise.' Pathetic, really. "Why am I so stiff?" I asked the blue-eyed guy in front of me. He looked extremely uncomfortable with that question, but my mother had no trouble answering for him.

"You were dead for five days, sweety."

Sighing, I disentangled myself from Magnus' embrace and turned to look at my mother. "Speaking of being dead, what the hell?! Who was that, what was that weird ass place I was in, and who the hell are these people!?" More chuckles. What is it with people laughing at me?

"Drink the tea while everyone introduces themselves." Grumbling, I did as I was told and sipped the warm concoction. It was sweet, with an orange tang accompanying it.

The blond man decided to do his introductions first. "Jace Wayland." Short, sweet, that's good. He laid a protective arm across the red-head's shoulders, introducing her as Clary Fray. Honestly, I would have thought she would have a more elaborate name, but I guess that's what happens when you have red hair.

"Isabelle Lightwood." the girl with black hair nodded as her way of greeting. The guy that was sitting introduced himself as Alec Lightwood. I smirked, glad that I was correct in assuming that they were siblings.

"And the vampire hiding in the shadows is Simon." Said guy protested at Jace's obvious barb, causing Clary to step in to try to get them to behave.

Magnus was silent through all of this, probably in shock himself about the whole thing. "Thanks for coming for me." I muttered, feeling a blush paint my face.

"I'm glad I did." He replied, seeming more relaxed than when I first 'woke up.'

"Okay, so where am I?"

Isabelle was the one to answer my question this time. "You're in the Idrid Institute run by my mother, Maryse Lightwood." I nodded my thanks.

"So, mum, are you going to answer any of my questions?"

"I can only answer one of your questions, my little fairy, and in answering this question, I'm going to assume that you are asking about the place you were in when you were dead." I nodded my head, a gesture for her to continue. "Well, to put it simply, you were in Death's home." Silence. Even the bickering males had shut up long enough to hear what Mum said. "Did you drink from the white cup?"

I scoffed. "The lady shoved it to my face. Not like I had a choice." She nodded, then glanced at her watch. Victoria stood up abruptly and started to head for the door.

"Sweety, I have to go." She laid a kiss on my forehead. "You're going to have to find a new home since your apartment was destroyed by the bloody git who killed you." She then left with a backwards wave and an "I'll see you later!"

"She's strange" was Jace's first comment after Mum left.

"That doesn't even begin to describe Victoria Dracoling." I said, leaning onto Magnus for support. "I'm going to sleep and you're going to be my pillow, Magnus." Without hearing his reply, I fell asleep on him.

Hey, coming back to life is a lot more work than dying!

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**_And that's the end of that chapter~ Okay, so a response to my LOVELY reviewer(s) :3_**

**_RonaldGarcia91: It's not a real prayer; it's something I completely made up to go with the story :3 Um... Well, actually, it's a lot more complicated than that, but I can assure you that they are both almost completely human ;3 Trust me, you'll love the other kind of twists I'm going to put out there~_**

**_Thank you for being a faithful reviewer~ Please give me reviews and tell me what you think of this chapter~_**


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